Redundancy gets the bump

A bumped redundancy occurs when an employee whose role is at risk of redundancy is placed into a role and the person currently in that role is dismissed as redundant.

The latest bumping case is Mirab v Mentor Graphics.

The employee’s role had been made redundant and the tribunal held that the dismissal was a fair redundancy. The tribunal found that the employer had looked for alternatives: the fact that the employee had not raised bumping meant that the employer was not required to consider it.

The EAT decided that considering whether to bump or not to bump must be viewed through the ‘range of reasonable responses’ test.

There are no definitive rules that bumping has to be considered nor that the employer does not have to consider bumping unless the employee raises it. It is rather that individual facts and circumstances need to be considered on a case by cases basis to determine whether bumping should be considered, in order for the employer to act within the range of reasonable responses.